ELECTROPHORETIC ANALYSIS OF NON-B AND B-BIOTYPE BEMISIA-TABACI (GENNADUIS) (HEMIPTERA, ALEYRODIDAE) IN AUSTRALIA

B-type Bemisia tabaci were detected in Australia for the first time in October 1994. The whiteflies were distinguished from an existing non B-type strain of B. tabaci by electrophoretic analysis of naphthyl est erases in individual whiteflies. The distinctive isoenzyme profile was consistent with B-type populations from other areas of the world. Ind ividuals heterozygous for both patterns were also detected using this technique, confirming that the B-type and Australian strain could inte rbreed. An Australia-wide survey showed that B-types were widely distr ibuted in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The B-type was also detected in Tasmania. The origins of the B-type and th e implications for Australian agriculture, should it become an establi shed pest on key crops, are discussed.